The temporary placement of an additional MH-65 helicopter and crews in Humboldt Bay is part of a wider reassignment of aircraft and personnel from Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles, which is being decommissioned.

“We welcome our shipmates and the new helicopter from Los Angeles to the North Coast,” said Cmdr. Kevin M. Barres, response officer, Sector Humboldt Bay. “An additional aircraft and extra crews will help us with local operations, and bolster our ability to deploy helicopters aboard large Coast Guard cutters for long-range worldwide patrols.”

Three other helicopters and crews from the decommissioned Los Angeles unit are being transferred to San Francisco. Coast Guard helicopter operations in the Los Angeles area will be conducted from a Forward Operating Base located at Naval Base Ventura County at Pt. Mugu by crews rotating from San Francisco.

Plans call for the additional aircraft and crews placed in San Francisco and Humboldt Bay to return to Southern California after a new permanent air station is built in the region. The new unit is expected to be operational by 2021.